"File this away with the start of the NHL free-agency period: Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney will not be looking under couch cushions for loose change to pad his budget.

The team will not be near the top of the team payroll list, but the deal hammered out between the league and the Coyotes gives Maloney a lot of options. Free agency begins Friday at 9 a.m. (Arizona time), and the Coyotes will join the early frenzy, specifically on the prowl for a goaltender.

"Everybody would like maybe a little bit more," Maloney said. "There's room in our budget to add good players. The trick is finding them.

"Right now, the UFA (unrestricted free agent) market, there's good role players, to get that higher-end, quality front-line player, there's very, very few."

The top unrestricted free agent available is Dallas forward Brad Richards, who made $7.8 million last season. He's a player who would give the Coyotes the scoring punch they sorely need, but even with room to operate in the budget, Richards is out of reach.

"But we're not restricted at all," Maloney said. "I think we're in very good shape in regards to what we want to do. We have to be patient and continue to look for value, and that's what we're doing right now.""